The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Gaillardia plant, also known as a blanket flower, a herbaceous perennial that is grown for use as an ornamental landscape and container plant. The new variety is known botanically as Gaillardia×grandiflora and will be referred to hereinafter by the variety name ‘Fanfare Citronella’. Gaillardia is in the family Compositae, under which the commonly referred to “flower” is actually the inflorescence, and made up of smaller ray florets and disc florets. The ray florets themselves have the appearance of petals.
‘Fanfare Citronella’ is product of a Gaillardia breeding program started in 2006. The breeding program was conducted in a greenhouse in a nursery environment in West Sussex, United Kingdom. The aims of the breeding program were to produce novel combinations of flower colors and flower forms which are borne on well-branched plants with sturdy growth habits. ‘Fanfare Citronella’ was selected in 2009 for its bright yellow tubular ray florets which are produced continually from spring until fall and which do not fade with age. ‘Fanfare Citronella’ was also selected for its compact and naturally branching habit.
‘Fanfare Citronella’ resulted from the controlled cross pollination in 2008 as follows. The female parent of ‘Fanfare Citronella’ is an unreleased and unpatented seedling of the inventors' origin, code number ‘G719-8’ The male parent of ‘Fanfare Citronella’ is the inventors' variety ‘Fanfare Blaze’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,494).
‘Fanfare Citronella’ was first asexually propagated in September 2009 in an unheated greenhouse at the inventors nursery in West Sussex, United Kingdom using vegetative cuttings. Subsequent asexual propagations have been carried in the same greenhouse using both vegetative cuttings and root cuttings. ‘Fanfare Citronella’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction by either method of asexual propagation.